The Ministry of Health has ramped up its preparation to stem the spread of the deadly Covid-19 disease in the Kingdom thanks to help from the Jack Ma and Alibaba foundations which donated 20,000 test kits to the Kingdom.

On March 28, Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wentian presented the kits to Cambodian Minister of Health Mam Bun Heng.

Quoting Wang, the Chinese Embassy in Cambodia said in a Facebook post on Sunday that China and Cambodia share a common destiny.

The post said that the two countries are willing to share pain and joy, and compared their bond to that of siblings. At present, China and Cambodia are sharing similar feelings, the post continued.

Wang said: “To help enhance the capacity to check for Covid-19, the Chinese Embassy in Cambodia coordinated with the Jack Ma and Alibaba foundations to urgently donate test kits to Cambodia.

“Hopefully, we can help provide the manpower to Cambodia in the fight against this new kind of virus. China will continue to assist as best as it can to Cambodia to overcome the virus.”

Quoting Bun Heng, the website of the Ministry of Information said on Sunday that the Ministry of Health had taken necessary measures to stop the spread of Covid-19 and prevent any further infections.

He said: “Medical equipment just arrived to support our efforts to stop and prevent this virus on time. We would like to thank Jack Ma and Alibaba foundations for this assistance.”

Ministry of Health spokesperson Or Vandine told The Post on Sunday that it needs to wait for clear instructions from the World Health Organisation about how to proceed in its fight against the virus.

She said: “So, it is good that we received this equipment. But we have to wait a little longer for clear instructions.”

China has made numerous contributions to Cambodia this month.

On March 19, Wuxi Techstar Technology Co Ltd and the Chinese Bacterial Molecular Medical Laboratory donated 3,000 Covid-19 test kits to the Kingdom.

The China Asia Economic Development Association donated 100,000 medical masks on March 22. And on March 23, China sent seven medical experts from the Guangxi autonomous region to Cambodia along with N95 protective masks, protective clothes, and goggles.

National police officials received 200 sets of protective clothes and 500 pairs of medical gloves on March 25.

At a meeting with volunteer medical personnel on March 25, Prime Minister Hun Sen said that, according to China, the more than four tonnes of equipment was just the first phase. China will donate more materials to Cambodia as needed, Hun Sen said.

He said: “China is experienced in the fight against the virus. All of them fought against it in Wuhan and they were successful.”